As a member of the Design Circle, you can take advantage of a wide range of benefits.

Member benefits:

• Free admission to the Vitra Design Museum and the Vitra Schaudepot for an entire year 
• Invitations to exhibition openings and exclusive previews
• Two annual vouchers for a guided exhibition tour or an architectural tour
• Exclusive member events
• One-time welcome gift
  
  

Special benefits for Premium Members:

• Free admission for an accompanying guest to the Vitra Design Museum for a full year
• 10% discount on Vitra products in the Museum Shop
• One annual voucher code for the museum’s online shop
• Invitation for two people to the Vitra Summer Party in conjunction with Art Basel
• One free catalogue of each current Vitra Design Museum exhibition
  
  
• Further information: Flyer Design Circle pdf

There are special events for the members of the Design Circle. These range from exclusive members events to Vitra Design Museum events, where the Design Circle members receive special rates.

Curator's Tour »Together! The New Architecture of the Collective« / PREVIEW
Thursday, 01 Jun 2017, 6 pm, Vitra Design Museum

Swiss Design Tradition – Keramik Laufen
Friday, 28 Apr 2017, 4.30 pm, Laufen Forum
Design Circle Members enjoyed a tour of the production facilities of Keramik Laufen and a talk about the importance of Design and its development for a ceramic producing company.

Studio Visit: Inch Furniture
Wednesday, 22 Mar 2017, 6.30 pm, Westquai
www.inchfurniture.ch  

Curator's Tour »Hello, Robot. Design between human and maschine« / PREVIEW
Wednesday, 08 Feb 2017, 6 pm, Vitra Design Museum
Guests: R2D2

Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron Cabinet
Tuesday, 20 Sep 2016, 6 pm 
Exclusive tour of Herzog & de Meuron's archive which comprises architectural plans, drawings, sketches, architectural and material models as well as works of art.

Tour Design Miami/ Basel
Friday, 17 Jun 2016, 4 pm
Serge Mauduit – member of Design Miami/ Basel’s vetting committee and curator of the collection of Vitra Deisgn Museum – presented his personal highlights of this year’s fair.  

Preview Vitra Schaudepot
Tuesday, 31 May 2016, 6 pm
With opening the Schaudepot the Vitra Design Museum provides a venue for presenting key objects from its extensive collection to the public. Naturally we wanted to share this historic milestone with the members of our Design Circle and gave them an exclusive preview of the new building before the official opening on 3 June.

Architectural Tour Kunstmuseum Basel | Neubau
Tuesday, 17 May 2016, 4 pm
With the new bulding by renowned Basel-based architecture firm Christ & Gantenbein an exhibition space satisfying the highest contemporary standards for the presentation of art is being created as well as another architectural highlight in the Basel cityscape. For Design Circle Members Christoph Gantenbein personally gave a tour of the new building.

Curator’s Tour »Alexander Girard. A Designer’s Universe « / PREVIEW
Wednesday, 9 Mar 2016, 6 pm, Vitra Design Museum
Special guests: Marshall Girard, Kori Girard, Aleishall Girard

Curator’s Tour »The Bauhaus #itsalldesign« / PREVIEW
Wednesday, 23 Sep 2015, 6 pm, Vitra Design Museum

Tour Design Miami/ Basel
Friday, 19 Jun 2015, 16.30 pm, Design Miami/ Basel
Design Miami/ Basel has been celebrating its 10th anniversary at Art Basel this year. Design Miami/ director Rodman Primack gave a tour for the Design Circle; guiding our members through the location and showing this year’s highlights by designers and galleries.

Apartment building by Buchner & Bründler Architects
Tuesday, 19 May 2015, 6 pm, Basel
Having realised Voltazentrum at St-. Johann and the Youth Hostel Basel at St. Alban, Daniel Buchner and Andreas Bründler are well known architects within the Basel area. After founding their own architectural firm in 1997, their first project – a loft at Colmarerstrasse in Basel – soon received an award. Since then Buchner & Bründler have realised over 60 projects. Daniel Buchner personally guided the Design Circle through the five-story apartment building, which won the “Architekturpreis Beton”.

Curator’s Tour »Making Africa – A Continent of Contemporary Design« / PREVIEW
Wednesday, 11 Mar 2015, 6 pm, Vitra Design Museum

Opening of the exhibition »Architecture of Independence – African Modernism« by Manuel HerzFriday, 20 Feb 2015, 19 h, Vitra Design Museum Gallery
As many countries in Central and Sub-Saharan Africa gained their independence in the 1960s, experimental and futuristic architecture became a principal means by which the young nations expressed their national identities. The exhibition in the Vitra Design Museum Gallery is one of the first presentations of this remarkable period of our more recent architectural history and is researched and curated by architect and author Manuel Herz, with a substantial contribution by photographer Iwan Baan.

This exhibition has been made possible with the support of DESIGN CIRCLE.

»100 Years of Swiss Design« – A visit to the Museum für Gestaltung – Schaudepot Zürich
Saturday, 31 Jan 2015, 1.45 pm, Museum für Gestaltung – Schaudepot Zürich
In September 2014 the Museum für Gestaltung – Schaudepot Zürich moved to its temporary residence at Toni Areal and launched this event with the exhibition »100 Years of Swiss Design«, curated by Renate Menzi, Head of Design Collections, and Arthur Rüegg. Further, the collections of the museum are being presented at the Schaudepot.

Members’ Assembly (MV4) including collection tour
Wednesday, 12 Nov 2014, 6 pm, Conference Pavilion Tadao Ando

Curator’s Tour »Alvar Aalto – Second Nature« / PREVIEW
Wednesday, 24 Sep 2014, 6 pm, Vitra Design Museum
Jochen Eisenbrand, chief curator of the Vitra Design Museum, will give insight into this comprehensive retrospective on one of the most important Finnish designers and proponent of a human-centred modernism in architecture.

VIP Tour Design Miami/ Basel
Friday, 20 Jun 2014, 5.30 pm, Design Miami/ Basel
Design Miami/ Basel has established itself as the platform for design during the art summer in Basel. Again this year they will temporarily set up camp at the Basel fairgrounds. Exclusively for Design Circle members, Rodman Primack – recently appointed director of Design Miami/ – presents his personal highlights of this year’s Design Miami/ Basel followed by drinks in the collector’s lounge.

Tour »Konstantin Grcic – Panorama« / PREVIEW
Wednesday, 19 Mar 2014, 6 pm, Vitra Design Museum
The Vitra Design Museum is presenting the largest solo exhibition on Grcic and his work to date. Together, Konstantin Grcic and Mateo Kries will exclusively guide the Design Circle members through this jointly developed exhibition on the future of design focusing on the projects’ concept and progress.

Two visits »at home« in Riehen
Wednesday, 12 Feb 2014, 5.30 pm, Riehen
Mrs Anetta Grisard and our Design Circle member Hans Schöpflin will warmly welcome us in their private homes.

2015
Acquisition for the collection of the Vitra Design Museum: Joris Laarman, Aluminium Gradient Chair (1. Prototype), 2015

2014
Book launch & exhibition ››Architecture of Independence – African Modernism‹‹: 20.02.2015, Vitra Design Museum Gallery

2013
Acquisition for the collection of the Vitra Design Museum and presentation in the exhibition ››Lightopia‹‹: Paul Cocksedge, Bourrasque, 2013

You are interested in a membership of Design Circle? Please find below the membership registration form as well as the charter of bylaws. Simply fill out the registration form and send it by e-mail or regular mail to the following address:

Design Circle – Freunde des Vitra Design Museums e.V.
Charles-Eames-Straße 2
D-79576 Weil am Rhein
T +49.7621.702.3200
F +49.7621.702.3590
design-circle(at)design-museum.de

• membership registration
• charter of bylaws

Membership fees:

• Junior Member (max. age 35): € 60.00
• Member: € 100.00
• Family Member (2 adults + all children under 18): € 150.00
• Premium Member: minimum € 500.00
• Corporate Member: If you are interested in a corporate membership, please contact us. We would be happy to assemble a membership package that suits your requirements.
  
  

Members Recruit Members:

Please recommend us to others! As a sign of our gratitude for recruiting a new member, you will be invited to choose one of our exhibition catalogues as a free gift. For gaining a new Premium Member, you will receive a Wooden Doll designed by Alexander Girard.

Design Circle – Freunde des Vitra Design Museums e.V.
Charles-Eames-Straße 2
D-79576 Weil am Rhein
T +49.7621.702.3200
F +49.7621.702.4707
design-circle(at)design-museum.de

Board of Directors:
Barbara Wilhelm (Chair)
Manuel Herz (Deputy Chair)
Marc Zehntner (Treasurer)